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Film, Video The Stephen Sondheim Collection

Transcript: TEXT

About this Item

Title

  • The Stephen Sondheim Collection

Summary

  • Famed lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim bequeathed thousands of rare and personal items to the Library of Congress -- a staggering historic acquisition which covers decades of Sondheim's work. The collection includes music and lyric sketches and final "fair copies" for virtually all of Sondheim's songs. In addition, there are rare recordings, personal correspondences, drafts of plays, screenplays and teleplays Sondheim wrote (or co-wrote), including for the film "The Last of Sheila." There are scrapbooks that include clippings, programs and opening night telegrams. The collection items provide an intimate view into the life and legacy of one of the greatest lyricists and composers of the 20th century. Stephen Sondheim is credited with shaping musical theater and Broadway as we know it today, starting his career with writing the lyrics for "West Side Story." He then wrote the lyrics and music for landmark shows that include "Company," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Into the Woods" and "Sunday in the Park with George." Through these collection items, particularly through lyric and music sketches, we can see the lengthy process in which Sondheim poured enormous attention and detail into crafting iconic Broadway hits, such as "A Little Night Music" and "Sweeney Todd." Senior Music Specialist Mark Horowitz guides us through a riveting tour of this newly acquired historic collection, looking at never-before-seen items such as the specialty lyrics adapted for Barbra Streisand, as well as early items, such as the program from a musical Sondheim wrote in high school. Take a look at this historic collection and hear what happened 30 years ago that led to Sondheim's decision to donate his life's work to the Library.

Event Date

  • June 25, 2025

Running Time

  • 5 minutes 43 seconds

Online Format

  • video
  • image
  • online text

Rights & Access

While the Library of Congress created most of the videos in this collection, they include copyrighted materials that the Library has permission from rightsholders to present.  Rights assessment is your responsibility.  The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. There may also be content that is protected under the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations.  Permissions may additionally be required from holders of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights). Whenever possible, we provide information that we have about copyright owners and related matters in the catalog records, finding aids and other texts that accompany collections. However, the information we have may not be accurate or complete.

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Credit Line: Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Stephen Sondheim Collection. 2025. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-11744/.

APA citation style:

(2025) The Stephen Sondheim Collection. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-11744/.

MLA citation style:

The Stephen Sondheim Collection. 2025. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/webcast-11744/>.